chop n sizzle

Chop all of your veggies first, including your potato(s).

Warm a large pot and throw in a dab of coconut oil and let it turn to liquid. Put your onions and garlic in your pot, and give it a shake or a mix to cover the bottom of the pot with oil. Cook these for about 3 minutes on medium heat and then add your celery and carrots. Mix to get it all oily, and let it cook for about 3-5 more minutes. Now ad your spices for (just about) your whole soup. I say just about, because it’s always easier to add more later, than to add more broth and water to dull down your super-spicy catastrophe. I am awesome at making food way too hot. This way you can just ad more spices later, if it needs it.

I urge you to quit measuring as soon as you feel confident, and just express yourself with your spices. Some days, you may want to kick up the cayenne, and measuring spoons discourage that.

Let these spices cook and get a little bit smokey. Mix often for anywhere between 3-10 minutes. You may want to turn down the heat a bit to keep the spices from burning. This will help develop some stronger flavors. Check out some Indian recipes for more inspiration in this direction.

Next, place your raw chopped potato in the pot.

Then pour in your broth and a few squirts of liquidsmoke. Keep in mind that you have a bunch of beans to be added, so pour accordingly. I always like my soups to be low on the broth side. Chew over sip, ya know?

Put it on medium/high, and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Keep it bubbly.

When you come back, your kitchen should smell spicy and sexy. Stick a fork in a potato chunk and make sure that they are soft enough to chew, at least. This is when you want to add your beans.

I wait until now because canned beans are always boiled, and they don’t really need to be cooked more. Give them 5 minutes to play with the other tastes.

Take out a bowl and lay down some baby kale, or spinach, or whatever you want, and pour your soup over it. It will wilt without losing nutrients from cooking it. In the picture above I just tossed some toasted quinoa on top for texture and a protein boost.